Multilayer container package for dispensing a liquid product

ABSTRACT

A package for dispensing a liquid product that includes an outer shell having a flexible resilient sidewall, a base wall and a finish surrounding an outlet opening. An inner bag-shaped liner is disposed within the outer shell, and is unattached to the sidewall and the base wall of the outer shell so as to be collapsible with respect to the outer shell as product is dispensed from the liner. A dispensing structure is secured to the finish. An opening in the base wall of the outer shell vents the volume between the shell and the liner to atmosphere. The opening is orifice-sized to prevent rapid egress of air as the container sidewall is squeezed, so that pressure from squeezing the sidewall forces product within the liner out of the outlet opening and the dispensing structure.

[0001] This application is a division of application Ser. No. 10/105,730filed Mar. 25, 2002.

[0002] The present invention is directed to a liquid dispensing packagethat includes a flexible resilient outer shell and a collapsible innerliner for holding the liquid product, and more particularly totechniques for venting the space or volume between the liner and theshell as product is dispensed and the liner collapses.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,083,450 and 6,238,201 disclose a multilayercontainer that includes an outer plastic shell and a plastic inner linerfor holding product to be dispensed. As product is dispensed from thepackage, the inner liner pulls away from the outer shell and collapses.An atmospheric vent is disposed in the bottom wall of the shell forventing the volume between the liner and the shell to atmosphere so thatthe outer shell retains its geometry or configuration while the innerliner collapses as product is dispensed. It is a general object of thepresent invention to provide improved techniques for venting the spaceor volume between the shell and the liner.

[0004] A package for dispensing a liquid product in accordance with afirst aspect of the present invention includes an outer shell having aflexible resilient sidewall, a base wall and a finish surrounding anoutlet opening. An inner liner is disposed within the outer shell, andis unattached to the sidewall and the base wall of the outer shell so asto be collapsible with respect to the outer shell as product isdispensed from within the liner. A dispensing structure is secured tothe container finish. An open orifice in the base wall of the outershell is sized to prevent rapid egress of air through the orifice inresponse to squeezing of the container sidewall so that pressure on theliner from squeezing the sidewall forces product from within the linerout of the outlet opening and the dispensing structure. The open orificeis sized to permit slow ingress of ambient air into the shell inresponse to release of the sidewall to vent the volume between thesidewall and the liner and permit the sidewall to return to itsunsqueezed configuration.

[0005] A package for dispensing a liquid product in accordance withanother aspect of the present invention includes an outer shell having aflexible resilient sidewall, a base wall and a finish surrounding anoutlet opening. An inner liner is disposed within the outer shell, andis unattached to the sidewall and the base wall of the outer shell so asto be collapsible with respect to the outer shell during dispensing ofproduct within the liner. A dispensing closure is secured to the finish.The closure includes a dispensing opening for dispensing product fromwithin the liner when the package is inverted and the shell sidewall issqueezed. An open orifice in the base wall of the outer shell is sizedto prevent rapid egress of air through the orifice in response tosqueezing of the container sidewall so that the pressure on the linerfrom squeezing the sidewall condenses the air volume and forces productwithin the liner out of the outlet opening and the dispensing opening.The orifice is sized to permit slow ingress of ambient air into theshell in response to release of the sidewall to permit the sidewall toreturn to its unsqueezed configuration.

[0006] A package for dispensing a liquid product in accordance with afurther aspect of the invention includes an outer shell having aflexible resilient sidewall, abase wall, a finish surrounding an outletopening, and an opening in the base wall. A liner is disposed within theouter shell, and is unattached to the sidewall and the base wall of theouter shell so as to be collapsible with respect to the outer shell asproduct is dispensed from the liner. A dispensing structure is securedto the container finish. An atmospheric valve assembly comprises a basesecured over the base wall of the outer shell, a valve pocket in thebase having an atmospheric opening, and a valve disk in the pocket. Inthis embodiment, squeezing of the sidewall of the outer shell will urgethe valve disk over the atmospheric opening in the base and forceproduct from the liner through the outlet opening and the dispensingstructure. Release of the sidewall will release the valve disk so thatambient air can flow through the atmospheric vent and the base wallopening to permit the sidewall to return to its unsqueezedconfiguration.

[0007] A package for dispensing liquid product in accordance with yetanother aspect of the invention includes an outer shell having aflexible resilient sidewall, abase wall, a finish surrounding an outletopening and an opening in the base wall. An inner liner is disposedwithin the outer shell, and is unattached to the sidewall and the basewall of the outer shell so as to be collapsible with respect to theouter shell to dispense product from within the liner. A dispensingclosure is secured to the finish, and includes an outlet opening fordispensing product from within the liner when the package is invertedand the shell sidewall is squeezed. An atmospheric valve assemblyincludes a base secured over the base wall of the outer shell, a valvepocket within the base having an atmospheric vent opening, and a valvedisk in the pocket. The valve disk in this embodiment includes a centralportion overlying the vent opening, a peripheral portion secured againstthe bottom wall of the valve pocket, and a plurality of flexibleresilient spokes interconnecting the central and peripheral portionswhile permitting movement of the central portion with respect to theperipheral portion and the vent opening. In this embodiment, squeezingof the sidewall of the outer shell will urge the central portion valvedisk over the atmospheric vent opening in the base to close the ventopening by the force of air within the shell and force product from theliner through the outlet opening and the dispensing closure. Release ofthe sidewall will release the central portion of valve disk so thatambient air can be drawn through the atmospheric vent opening and theopening in the base wall to permit the sidewall to return to itsunsqueezed configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The invention, together with additional objects, features andadvantages thereof, will be best understood from the followingdescription, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings in which:

[0009]FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a dispensing package inaccordance with one presently preferred embodiment of the invention;

[0010]FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the container in thepackage of FIG. 1;

[0011]FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale of theportion of FIG. 2 within the area 3;

[0012]FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the container in FIGS. 1-3;

[0013]FIG. 5 is a partially sectioned perspective view of a dispensingpackage in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

[0014]FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the container in thepackage of FIG. 5;

[0015]FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the container body in FIGS. 5-6;

[0016]FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the atmospheric vent cup in thecontainer of FIGS. 5-6;

[0017]FIG. 9 is a section view taken substantially along the line 9-9 inFIG. 8;

[0018]FIG. 10 is a sectional view similar to that of FIG. 9 but showinga modified base cup;

[0019]FIG. 11 is a top plan view of an atmospheric vent base cup inaccordance with yet another embodiment of the invention;

[0020]FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line12-12 in FIG. 11;

[0021] FIGS. 13-16 are top plan views of atmospheric vent valve disks inaccordance with respective modified embodiments of the invention; and

[0022]FIG. 17 is a fragmentary sectional view of a package in accordancewith another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023]FIG. 1 illustrates a liquid dispensing package 20 in accordancewith one presently preferred embodiment of the invention as comprising acontainer 22 and a dispensing closure 24. Referring to FIGS. 1-4,container 22 includes an outer shell 26 having a flexible resilientsidewall 28, a base wall 30 and a finish 32 surrounding and defining amouth that forms an outlet opening from the container interior. Finish32 has one or more external threads or beads 34 to which closure 24 issecured. An inner bag-shaped liner 36 is disposed within outer shell 26.Liner 36 is continuous throughout the interior of finish 32, sidewall 28and bottom wall 30, being open at the container mouth for dispensingproduct. Liner 36 is unattached to sidewall 28 and bottom wall 30, andis collapsible with respect to the outer shell for dispensing productfrom within the liner. A vent opening 38 is formed in bottom wall 30 ofouter shell 26, inner liner 36 being continuous over vent opening 38.Opening 38 preferably is centered in container bottom 30, as shown inFIG. 4. Container 22, including shell 26 and liner 36, preferably areformed in a plastic extrusion blow molding operation as described inabove-noted U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,450, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference. Shell 26 and/or liner 36 each may beof monolayer or multi-layer construction. At least the outer layer ofliner 36 preferably is of a plastic material that is incompatible withthe plastic material of the inner surface of shell 26 so that liner 36is readily separated from shell 26 as product is dispensed from withinthe container. In one presently preferred embodiment of the invention,outer shell 26 includes an outer layer of LDPE, MDPE, HDPE orpolypropylene, and an inner layer of polyethylene, HDPE and/or processregrind. Inner liner 36 includes an outer layer of EVOH or virgin nylon,and an inner layer of LLDPE or LPDE. In non-health-care applications, anadhesive in the amount of about 5% to 10% by weight can be mixed withthe inner layer of the liner. In health-care applications, the adhesivemay be provided as a separate layer between the inner and outer linerlayers. See U.S. application Ser. No. 09/287,934 filed Apr. 7, 1999, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,670,007, the disclosure of which is incorporated hereinby reference.

[0024] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, in theembodiment of FIGS. 1-4, vent opening 38 in base wall 30 of shell 26 isa small orifice-size opening. That is, opening 38 is sufficiently smallto prevent rapid egress of air through the opening in response tosqueezing of container sidewall 28. In this way, the forces of squeezingsidewall 28 are primarily directed to squeezing liner 36 by compressingthe air volume between the liner and the shell, and to dispensingproduct from within the liner through the dispensing opening of closure24. If the sidewall squeezing forces remain constant, the air within thevolume between shell 26 and liner 36 will eventually flow throughopening 38 sufficiently that squeezing forces are no longer applied tothe liner. When the container sidewall is released, air will slowly flowback into shell 26, between liner 36 and the inside surface of theshell, through small orifice-size opening 38. Package 20 is particularlyuseful for infrequent dispensing of product in droplet form, such as eyedrops. Other applications include dispensing of liquid product in theform of a mist, a spray or a stream. Closure 24 has a dispensing openingthat is sized to dispense liquid from within the package in droplet,spray or stream form, as desired. Closure 24 may comprise a dispensingclosure as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,253, for example. In thisembodiment of the invention, opening 38 preferably has a size in therange of about 0.0007 to 0.003 square inch. A rectangular opening 38preferably has a length of about 0.125 inch, and a width of about 0.006to 0.008 inch. A circular opening 38 preferably has a diameter of about0.010 to 0.060 inch, and more preferably about 0.032 to 0.060 inch.

[0025]FIG. 5 illustrates a dispensing package 40 in accordance withanother aspect of the invention as comprising a container 42 and aclosure 44 secured over the finish 45 of the container. Container 42includes a container body having an outer shell 26 and an innerbag-shaped liner 36, as in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4. Again, the outershell and/or the inner liner each may be of either monolayer ormultilayer construction, for example employing materials discussed abovein connection with FIGS. 1-4. Shell 26 has a lower end 46 formed by acylindrical wall portion of reduced diameter as compared with the bodyof the shell. Lower end 46 is coaxial with body 26 and finish 45,forming an axially downwardly facing circumferentially continuousshoulder 48. (Directional words such as “upwardly” and “downwardly” areemployed by way of description and not limitation with respect to theupright orientation of the packages illustrated in the drawings.Directional words such as “radially” and “laterally” are employed by wayof description and not limitation with respect to the central axis ofthe container finish. All dimensions are nominal and are given by way ofexample.) A vent opening 50 is formed in bottom wall 30 of containershell 26. The container shell and liner may extrusion blow molded, andan elongated slot-shaped vent opening 50 may be formed as describedabove-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,450. A base 52 is secured to lowerportion 46 of container body 42. Base 52 includes a flat deck 54 havingan annular peripheral wall 56 that is telescopically received overportion 46 of the container sidewall with deck 54 in abutment with basewall 30 of outer shell 26. A recessed valve pocket 58 is centrallydisposed in deck 54, extending away from the upper end of the base thatis received over the container body. An opening 60 is centrally disposedin the flat bottom wall of pocket 58. Opening 60 has a diameter of 0.031inch in one presently preferred but exemplary embodiment of theinvention. Changing the size of opening 60 will control how rapidlyouter shell 26 and sidewall 28 return to their normal or pre-squeezedgeometries. For slower recovery, a smaller diameter opening 60 can beused, as small as 0.010 inch diameter.

[0026] A valve disk 64 is disposed within valve pocket 58. In theembodiment of FIGS. 5-7, valve disk 64 is loosely received in pocket 58for bodily movement with respect to vent opening 60. Valve disk 64 iscircular in geometry, having an imperforate central portion 66 ofsufficient diameter to cover and close vent opening 60 in pocket 58, andhaving a plurality of arcuate openings 68 around central portion 66.Valve disk 64 is retained within pocket 58 by reason of the fact thatthe upper end of the pocket is closed by base wall 30 of container shell26. Base 52 maybe spun-welded onto the lower end of the container shell,or may be secured to the lower end of the container shell by any othersuitable mechanism such as laser welding or adhesive. In use, valve disk64 is loosely received within pocket 58 of base 52, and base 52 issecured over lower portion 46 of container 42. That is, disk 64 is freefloating in pocket 58 and not physically attached to base 52 in thisembodiment. Closure 44, which may again be as illustrated in U.S. Pat.No. 6,325,253, is configured to dispense liquid in droplets, spray orstream when package 40 is inverted and the container sidewall issqueezed. When the sidewall is squeezed, the pressure of air betweenliner 36 and shell 26 urges valve disk 64 against the base of pocket 58so that central portion 66 of disk 64 covers and closes opening 60 inpocket 58. Squeezing forces on the container sidewall are thus appliedto the liner to dispense product within the liner through closure 44.When squeezing pressure is released, the resulting negative(sub-atmospheric) air pressure in the volume between shell 26 and liner36 draws valve disk 64 away from the bottom wall of pocket 58 so thatair enters opening 60 and flows through arcuate passages 68 and opening50 in the bottom wall of shell 26 into the volume between the shell andthe liner.

[0027]FIG. 10 illustrates a modified base 70. In FIG. 10 (and FIGS.11-16), reference numerals identical to those employed in connectionwith FIGS. 1-9 indicate identical or related components. Base 70 issimilar to base 52 (FIGS. 5-9), but additionally includes an annularshoulder 72 that extends upwardly from deck 54 surrounding pocket 58.Shoulder 72 functions as an energy director when spin welding base 70 tothe bottom wall 30 of container 42 (FIGS. 5-6). FIGS. 11-12 illustrate abase 74 having orthogonally positioned chordal beads 76 on the insidediameter of peripheral wall 56. Beads 76 may be received by snap fit ina corresponding channel around the lower end of the container outershell to retain the base cup on the container.

[0028]FIG. 13 illustrates a modified valve disk 78, in which centralportion 66 is mounted within an annular periphery 80 by a series ofangularly spaced axially flexible and resilient S-shaped spokes 82.Spokes 82 serve the dual functions of movably mounting center portion 66within periphery 80, and providing spaces 84 between the spokes forpassage of air between base opening 60 (FIGS. 5-6 and 8-9) and outershell vent slot 50 (FIGS. 5 and 7). FIG. 14 shows a valve disk 86 inwhich central portion 66 is mounted within periphery 80 by two S-shapedspokes 82, rather than three spokes as in the embodiment of FIG. 13.FIG. 15 illustrates a valve disk 88, in which central portion 66 ismounted within periphery 80 by four S-shaped spokes 82. FIG. 16illustrates a valve disk 90, which is similar to valve disk 78 in FIG.13 except that the S-shaped spokes 92 in FIG. 16 are wider than those inFIG. 13. Valve disks 78, 86, 88, 90 are flat and may have a uniformthickness on the order of 0.020 inch, for example. In each of theseembodiments, the peripheral portion of the valve disk is secured withinthe base against the bottom wall of the valve pocket, such as by pressfit, adhesive or welding. The central portion of the valve disk isflexibly and resiliently mounted by the spokes to hold the centralportion of the disk over the vent opening when the container issqueezed, and to permit resilient axial movement of the central portionaway from the vent opening due to negative pressure when the package isreleased. The S-shaped geometries of the resilient spokes isparticularly advantageous.

[0029]FIG. 15 illustrates a package 94 that includes a container 42(FIGS. 5-7), a base 74 (FIGS. 11-12), and a valve disk 78 (FIG. 13, or86 in FIG. 14, or 88 in FIG. 15 or 90 in FIG. 16). A thin gasket 96 ispositioned between disk 54 of base 42 and bottom wall 30 of container42. Gasket 96 is preferably of soft plastic material such aspolyethylene, and provides an area for laser-weld securement of the baseup to the container. Peripheral portion 80 of valve disk 78 is securedto the base against the bottom wall of the valve pocket, while centralportion 66 is free to move with respect to vent opening 60 as previouslydescribed. Beads 76 in the base function for temporary retention andcentering of the base prior to welding.

[0030] There has thus been disclosed a package for dispensing a liquidproduct that fully satisfies all of the objects and aims previously setforth. The invention has been disclosed in conjunction with twopresently preferred embodiments of the invention, and a number ofmodifications and variations have been discussed. Other modificationsand variations will readily suggest themselves to persons of ordinaryskill in the art. The invention is intended to embrace all suchmodifications and variations as fall within the spirit and broad scopeof the appended claims.

1. A package for dispensing a liquid product, which comprises: an outershell having a flexible resilient sidewall, a base wall and a finishsurrounding an outlet opening, an inner liner disposed within said outershell, said inner liner being unattached to said sidewall and said basewall of said outer shell and being collapsible with respect to saidouter shell to dispense product within said liner, a dispensingstructure secured to said finish, and an open orifice in said base wallof said outer shell, said open orifice being sized to prevent rapidegress of air through said orifice in response to squeezing of saidsidewall so that pressure on said inner liner from squeezing saidsidewall forces product within said liner out of said outlet opening andsaid structure, said orifice being sized to permit slow ingress ofambient air into said shell in response to release of said sidewall topermit said sidewall to return to its unsqueezed configuration.
 2. Thepackage set forth in claim 1 wherein said open orifice has a size in therange of about 0.0007 to 0.003 square inch.
 3. The package set forth inclaim 2 wherein said open orifice is rectangular and has a size of about0.125 inch by about 0.006 to 0.008 inch.
 4. The package set forth inclaim 2 wherein said open orifice is circular and has a diameter ofabout 0.010 to 0.060 inch.
 5. The package set forth in claim 1 whereinsaid dispensing structure comprises a closure secured to said finish,said closure having an outlet opening constructed to dispense theproduct in drops when said package is inverted and said sidewall issqueezed.
 6. A package for dispensing a liquid product, which comprises:an outer shell having a flexible resilient sidewall, a base wall and afinish surrounding an outlet opening, an inner liner disposed withinsaid outer shell, said inner liner being unattached to said sidewall andsaid base wall of said outer shell and being collapsible with respect tosaid outer shell to dispense product within said liner, a dispensingclosure secured to said finish, including a dispensing opening fordispensing of product from within said liner when said package isinverted and said shell sidewall is squeezed, and an open orifice insaid base wall of said outer shell, said open orifice being sized toprevent rapid egress of air through said orifice in response tosqueezing of said sidewall so that pressure on said inner liner fromsqueezing said sidewall forces product within said liner out of saidoutlet opening and said dispensing opening, said orifice being sized topermit slow ingress of ambient air into said shell in response torelease of said sidewall to permit said sidewall to return to itsunsqueezed configuration.